Pressure responsive switch



PRESSURE RESPONSIVE SWITCH Original Filed Aug. 3, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVEN TOR. E s+el C. Home Feb. 23, 1954 E. C. RANEY PRESSURE RESPONSIVE SWITCH Original Filed Au 3, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR. Esll C- R0 ney Kim Patented Feb. 23, 1954 PRESSURE RESPONSIVE SWITCH Estel C. Raney, Delaware, Ohio, assignor to Ranco Incorporated, Columbus, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Original application August 3, 1948, Serial No. 42,177, now Patent No. 2,556,981, dated June 12, 1951. Divided and this application March 26, 1951, Serial No. 217,580

4 Claims. (01. 200-83) The present invention relates to a controller and is herein illustrated as an electric switch of the pressure operative type. This application is a division of my co-pending application Serial No. 42,177, filed August 3, 1948, now Patent No. 2,556,981.

More specifically the present invention relates to a controller which is formed from a plurality of sub-assemblies, each of which includes a wall, and which when assembled form a housing with the control mechanism enclosed therein.

For the purpose of distinguishing one wall from another, the word top and the word bottom have merely been used for the purpose of explanation in connection with the location of the parts in the drawings. It is to be understood that the controller is capable of being placed in various positions. For example, the top wall may be the bottom wall.

For example, if the switch were inverted, the

top wall would be the bottom wall with no changes in the physical structure of the controller. In other words the words top and bottom are merely used as means of distinguishing one wall from the other.

In carrying out the present invention, the bottom sub-assembly includes a housing wall having an opening for receiving a cam follower. This sub-assembly also includes a cam and mechanism for turning the cam. An upper sub-assembly includes a top housing wall and certain control mechanisms. The control mechanism herein shown comprises snap acting mechanisms for actuating a movable contact. The top and bottom sub-assemblies are connected with one another through side plates or walls. A third or end sub-assembly includes an end wall for closing one end of the structure formed by the top and bottom walls and the side plates. This third sub-assembly includes a sealed expansible and contractible element or aneroid. A plurality of levers are pivotally connected with the side plates. One of these levers is operatively associated with the aneroid and the snap acting mechanism for actuating the snap acting mechanism in response to movement of the aneroid. The other lever is also pivotally connected to the side plates and is connected to the first mentioned lever through a spring. The second mentioned lever has a cam follower which extends through an opening in the bottom wall and is arranged in co-operativerelation with the cam carried by the bottom wall whereby the tension of the spring can be regulated so as to selectively control the pressure at which the snap acting ma et sm. i ament.

In the specific embodiment of the invention, each of the side plates is provided with at least one opening for receiving projections or cars formed integrally with the top wall so as to locate the position of the top wall with respect to the side plates. The top wall is also provided with inwardly extending ears and the side plates are also provided with inwardly extending ears. The side plate is formed of flexible material such as sheet metal and the ears of the side plates are wrapped around the ears of the top wall so as to hold the top wall and side plates in position. Each of the side plates is provided with a pair of confronting shoulders adjacent an end edge thereof and these shoulders form guideways. The end wall of the end sub-assembly is held in position by the guideways so as to locate the end sub-assembly in position. The top wall and the bottom wall each have a portion which overlie the top and bottom respectively of the end wall to prevent accidental displacement of the end wall.

The bottom wall of the bottom sub-assembly is provided with a plurality of bayonet type slots.

, These slots co-operate with integrally formed ears on the side plate for latching one end of the bottom sub-assembly in position. The other ends of the side plates and bottom wall are suitably connected as by screws.

As previously pointed out the side plates are formed of flexible material preferably of sheet metal. Also as previously stated, the levers are pivotally mounted on the side walls. In order to re-enforce the material adjacent the pivot point of the levers, the material adjacent the openings which receive the pivots for the lever, is corrugated.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred form of embodiment of the invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side view, partly in section, of a controller and the improved housing therefor;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the housing containing the control mechanism;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of part of the controller housing;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the end subassembly;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the right end of the controller;

, '6 is a bottom view of the controller, one

of the retaining ears of a side plate being broken away to'show one of the bayonet slots, in the bot- '1: to n wall, which reeeives one of the ears; and

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view of the side plate and mounting bracket for the housing, the sectiombeing taken on- -line;]+ -1 i Fig.2.

Referring. to; the drawings, the controllen- 281 is formed principally of several interconnected and co-operated sub-assemblies. The top wall of: the controller is formed of an upper sheet or panel 22 and a lower sheet or panel 23 01 res"- inous material such as phenolite. Thesersheetsl are suitably attached to one: another; amal amheld in position with respect to the side plates 90 and 9| by ears or projections, 24 which, extend through perforations 2M, asseen ..imEig;,.3 of? the side plates.

Terminals 25 and 26, formed'of electrical'com ducting material extend through the sheets 22 and 23. The lower end of the left terrnina-t 2&5;v is provided with a horizontally extending portion 212 which serves as: ea; seat; for: astationaryg contact: 28; The lowerend of: the; right,-iterminal. 2fi;is provided with-ta horizontally; extending arm; 31!, forming a lowerrstnp: ion. a 168i:- spring, 31;; A. coeoperating; contact-13:3;- is: carried; by; aleaf: spring. Theleaii spring; is provided; at the right end: with an; up turned? nortionariveted:v all 35. to a: porti-omofrtheterminal;25 whichaislloa eatedbelow: thetomsheet": 2 I:

A snapacting mechanism issproyidedfor mQV:-.- ing the-spring 34; to. citizen-open! on'closeethecontacts? with: azsnapxaction: This; mechanismincludes': aitoggle assembly: having arlinka or; toggle member; 4t: -and:a. spring-,thereini-shovm' asa:- fiat.- Ueshaped. spring). 41: Both;- the link? M; and; the springr ll" areecarried; byythe: spring; 34' and, pro; vide for? actuatingithesspring zfi in :either: of; two.- directionsgthati: is either:v up Eon-down. arse-Viewed iniFiglil... 'lheileaf spring thhasyarrupwardln extending projectionahaving; an: openingon win;- dow 5.5 throughwhichythe linlz meextends and which provides in effect a loop by which the. togglezcambe. monedi upmra dowmandca-use: snap actuatiomofa.theispringg34easristdescrihedain[de t'aiLin U Si. Patent No. 2;55. 8L;..

From the: foregoirmz; it: Willbe seen that v the. connected..top:;wa lls..-: 2 l r and; 212;,thelncontactaeza andri-3fixandcthezsnapi acting- .me.eha-nisml.-for. cone tact 33 form a top.sub-.-assembl y.

The snapiactingpmechanisimis actuatedintone direction byaanrexpansibler'and conttactibleesealed element; such as: amaneroid: m:- through alevei; assembly 65;. Thisllever,:assemblygincludesiarleyen 61 having a' pairioft tineafi iw; nlvoneot which is::sho.wn:,=..eachz.oiawhiclrmergesrintosa shoulderporticmor pivot; 6.2;. at -:their::end-s; Qne :ofi these; shoulders extends through an apertures-64.19101? plate: 93: and; the other extender; through: a :like

aperture of plate; 9 la The. left side; walls- (itcofxthe metal surroundingzandgdefining theeapere ture .6 lb form rbearings for; 'pivotse 62-2' 'IYhe-deit end of. the. lever zB l carries: a;- fiat: plateiaofi: in-. sulating material 63, such as phenolite-.. The top of thisuplate 63 is;arranged touabnt; the lower end. of s maingttd. I for: movi g." the: springeitup wardly' upon expansionnvithtrrtthelaneroidy'lflr The operation. 1 of; the: snaps acting; device-: is, clearly- ,definedain: the ab over mentioned; .cQ-pending application. For the purpose- 0i:thee-instant case, it is .sufiicientl, to state that.- the;spring;v 3 I is biased to exert a pressure downwardly tolsnapi the linhAll-andthe, spring 4 vthrough dead center position by means ofitheloop; 5.5; toseparate. contact-:33 fromcontact 28,1 when the upward pressure of theleve'refl" has been d'ecreasedito a predetermined 1 value, and the "upward move inentfof the spring ,3 hf through the, :ldopg55f will. snap'the and the springflthrou'gh dead center position to close the contact 33 on contact 28 when the upward pressure exerted by lever 61 on .the spring al hasincreased.toapredetermined value.

The pressures at which the snap acting mechanism actuates the contact 33 is governed by a spring 66. This spring is connected at one end to:an 'extension- B5 of lever 60 by an adjustable screwB]. The-.other end of the spring 66 is connected; tear-I ,i512 of a lever 15. Lever I5 is provided:withaflplurality of tines 15b, only one of which is shown in Fig. 1. These tines merge into shoulders; 750 (see Fig. 2), each of which extends through; an opening 15d of one of the side-gplatesgilfiandgSgl, the wall defining the aperture 15d forming a bearing for a tine 150. The lettenli also includes a downwardly extending portion 18 which forms a cam follower which extends.- through. an, opening 82; in the, bottom wall 85-. orthe, bottom sub-assembly.

Inv addition to: the wall. 85;, the H bottom sub}, assemblsy includes. arotatable cam 8 Gam B l. is-.:actu ated by a cam driver. 83. snitablyse eured to the cam. This cam driver 60' GXtEHdSe-ifltQyQg knot fifibt of an. operating kn. ob.;-8fia:. Thisoperatine. knob isca-rried. by a; shaftefittwhi h att n is sjournaledcinzthe :bottom; wall 85;,

The? left, end of plate. 85.. is. provided-.5 at the front end with bayonet; type. slots see, each of; whichiisearraneed. tohreceive olnwnwai'dly.- and then-inwardly-v extending ear. 931). formed intee. grallywith-theside wallsaefl 012.91.. Inuplacing thebottomcover 85 in-,p osi,ti0n, thelbottomsqoyerl; 851 is moved to a-position to receive the ears-b; in; the enlargedopeningsv in the apertures 950 and then the bottom. 8.5-. is. moved; totthe .leitlso that the bottom part'of the earsfillbrorverlapsthe bottom 3.113533 is clearly shown v The bottom wall.$5 is secured in position with respect to the sidelplates S'Q andHQJL by two screws 9 5, These screws-8.5 extend upwardly. throughtth'e; bottom plate. SEland; are threaded into inward} extending ears 5.4.1 Theseears lfalte ifo fmfiirby shearing; the loweh edges of each of; the pl ates' 99: and. 9.1 and then bending. the. parts .inter mediate: theshearing, inwardly.

The end. subeassembly, includes-,,in-.-a .d;1itiorr.te. the aneroicln'ifl an end wall. 98. The'aneroidyl'fll. is: carried. by the wall. 98 .it, being-1 hermetically: sealed to wall :93. asat a. The, lefrtrwall of rthe, aneroid it. carries a bearingc platelflvwhich abuts; the, right end of. the. first .rolass lever. 61.. The end sub-assemblyalso, includes, a. tube Hi! which. is, herm ally. s l dto. the. e dfwallf nd n. opencommunication with the interior of; the aneroi'd 101' This tube and the'aneroidds part of a closed-thermostatic system; containing a'"li'quid' orgas or-a combination of thatwo: Irr the instantappli'cation the controller i-s particularly useful in connection with the thermostati con-- trol of a refrigerating system in which the con tacts 3.3 and 28- con-trolthe-operation ot the. motor for: the reirigerating-isystemi The. enct subeassemblyfisr. held1 in; position by guidewaws. formed ofishouldera: Theriehtend. ofsaid plate, 9Q ispmvided with; ninwan ly exten inglfl nee Wanda; similarfiangetl-is'formed on plate 9-51 Theesidet walls 99.- and 912131 6: also pierced and! bent. inwardly adjacent, the flanges. 86: and- $1 to providel shoulders 56a. which co flront the shoulders iormedb'y theleftside oilflangesafi andtl. The shoulders co-operate-to form. a guide'way for receiving the 'fi'fontjand rear" edges of the wall 98. As seen irrFig; 5,1 therightend of the top sheet 2| of the top" wall overli'esrthe upper edges of wall 98 so as to prevent upwai'd displacement of the end sub-assembly. And it will also be seen from Fig. 1 that the wall 85 overlies the lower end of the wall 98 of the end sub-assembly to prevent downward displacement of the sub-assembly. Thus the shoulders formed by the walls 90 and 9| and the overlying portions of the top wall 2| and bottom wall 85 lock the end sub-assembly in position.

The left side wall I00 may be formed of transparent material such as glass. It is held in position in the same manner as wall 98. However, the ledge or shoulder 99 which functions the same as the shoulder 96a, is formed by forming inwardly bulged portions on the side plates 90 and 9|.

To assist in holding the side plates 90 and 9! and the top wall in position, integrally formed ears 23a extend toward the end and integrally formed cars 98 on the plates 90 and 9| extend around the ears 23a, as is clearly shown in Fig. 3.

Since the side plates are formed of thin flexible material, it is desirable to reenforce the side plates adjacent the bearings for the levers 6| and 15. To accomplish this a corrugation I03 surrounds the openings 61b and d whose walls form the bearings for said levers.

From the foregoing it is readily apparent that I have materially simplified the construction of a controller and materially reduced the cost of manufacture including the assembly of the controller. This controller comprises principally three sub-assemblies, each of which includes one of the walls of the housing of the controller.

While the form of embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms may be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

I claim:

1. In a control apparatus, a housing comprising two oppositely disposed side walls; a control device actuating lever pivoted between said walls adjacent to one end of the housing and having a part extending toward the other end of the housing; an arm pivoted between said walls adjacent to said one end of the housing and having a part extending laterally of said extending part of said lever; a spring interconnecting said parts of said lever and arm to oppose movement of said lever in one direction, said walls having shoulders at said one end of said housing facing inwardly of said housing; a pressure responsive device comprising a plate and an expansible element on said plate, said plate abutting said shoulders to hold said element in engagement with said lever to urge said lever in one direction; a closure member attachable to said housing and extending between said walls, said closure member having a part extending over an edge of said plate to retain said plate in engagement with said shoulders; and means on said closure member to vary the position of said arm about its pivot and change the tension of said spring.

2. In a control apparatus, a housing comprising two oppositely disposed side walls; a control device actuating lever pivoted between said walls adjacent to one end of the housing and having a part extending toward the other end of the housing; an arm pivoted between said walls adjacent to said one end of the housing and having a part extending laterally with respect to said extending part of said lever; a spring interconnecting said parts of said lever and arm and opposing movement of said lever in one direction; means forming guideways at said one end of said housing to slidingly receive a plate; a pressure responsive device comprising a plate slidably positioned in said guideways and an expansible element on said plate engaging said lever to urge said lever in said one direction; a closure member attachable to said housing and extending between said walls, said closure member having a part extending over an edge of said plate to retain said plate in said guideways; and means on said closure member to vary the position of said arm about its pivot and change the tension of said spring.

3. In a control apparatus, a housing comprising two oppositely disposed side walls, a control device at one side of said housing and extending between said walls; a control device actuating lever pivoted between said walls adjacent to one end of the housing and having a part extending toward the other end of the housing and engageable with said control device; an arm pivoted adjacent to said one end of the housing and having a part extending laterally of said extending part of said lever and toward the side of said housing opposite said one side; a spring interconnecting said parts of said lever and arm to oppose movement of said lever in one direction; a pressure responsive device comprising a plate closing said one end of said housing, and an expansible element on said plate and engaging said lever to urge said lever in one direction; a closure member attached to said opposite side of said housing and extending between said walls; and means on said closure member arranged to shift said part of said arm to vary the position of said arm about its pivot and change the tension of said spring.

4. In a control apparatus, a housing comprising two oppositely disposed side walls; a control device at one side of said housing and extending between said walls; a control device actuating lever pivoted between said walls adjacent to one end of the housing and having a part extending toward the other end of the housing and engageable with said control device; an arm pivoted adjacent to said one end of the housing and having a part extending laterally of said extending part of said lever and toward the side of said housing opposite said one side; a spring, interconnecting said parts of said lever and arm to oppose movement of said lever in one direction; a pressure responsive device comprising a plate closing said end of said housing, and an expansible element on said plate and engaging said lever to urge said lever in one direction; a, closure member attached to said opposite side of said housing and extending between said walls, said closure member having an opening through which said part of said arm extends; and a cam on said closure member engaged by said part of said arm to vary the position of said arm about its pivot and change the tension of said spring.

ESTEL C. RANEY.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,909,665 Douglas May 16, 1933 2,277,560 Raney Mar. 24, 1942 2,459,837 Popp Jan. 25, 1949 2,511,640 Kuhn June 13, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 102,949 Australia Jan. 11, 1938 

